Sony a6000 Vs Canon M3 – Detailed Comparison

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In this article, we’ll be doing an in-depth comparison between the Sony a6000 vs Canon M3. By way of introduction, we’ll like to quickly point out that the cameras in this review are from different brands; the former being a Sony product and the later a Canon product.

The reason we decided to point it
out from the get go is because we believe it will form a foundation for the
differences that you’re sure to find between these 2 cameras.

There are other reasons why these
2 cameras are different, though. And we’ll be discussing all those reasons,
together with the 2 brands, in the next section.

However, there is more to the relationship
between these 2 cameras than just differences. They are both cameras, after
all. So, how much differences can they share, right? You’ll get to find that
out if you read this article to the very end.

Quick word before you zoom off. If you are fascinated by these 2 brands and want more information on some of their other products, you can check out the Sony a6000 vs Canon T6i comparison. You could also check out a Sony-Sony comparison here or a Canon-Canon comparison here. Now back to our review.

Sony a6000 Vs Canon M3 – Comparison Overview

At the end of this comparison
article, we want you to be able to decide and get the better camera for you.
This is the reason we’ve carefully gone through the features of each camera.

Now, we’ve not just laid out
these features, we’ve put the features of one camera side by side the features
of the other, helping you see which camera performs better. We’ve also pointed
out all those features that you will find in one camera but not the other.

That’s not all. We’ve also
highlighted what we consider to be the good and not so good aspects of each
camera. And then we’ve brought up feedback from some camera users who have used
either of these cameras.

However, before we dive right
into the body of article, there are a few things we’ll like to point out.

First is that while the Sony
a6000 can be considered a semi-pro camera, the Canon M3 should best be
classified as an entry level camera. This classification has some things to do
with speed and even lenses available, as you’ll soon find out.

Second is that both cameras are mirrorless cameras. However, to really understand what a mirrorless camera is, it has to be explained in context.

Mirrorless And DSLR Cameras

DSLR (Digital Single-Lens Reflex)
cameras typically come with a mirror that bounces off light to the optical
viewfinder. So, a mirrorless camera will be that camera that neither comes with
a mirror nor an optical viewfinder.

Now, when we talk about
viewfinders, we see where mirrorless cameras can differ from one another. Some
mirrorless cameras skip the viewfinder thing altogether and just stick with the
LCD screen or provide an external port for an electronic viewfinder. And yet
others have an inbuilt electronic viewfinder.

Need more information on the
viewfinder business? Check out the video below

Finally, let’s take a look at what the brands are about

Sony

Sony is a Japanese conglomerate
with its hands in a wide variety of business ventures. And by wide we mean
entertainment, gaming, electronics and even finance.

Sony has been around the block for a while now and people have started to associate the brand name with quality. In addition to that, its products are usually spread across a decent price range. Let’s see how the Sony a6000 holds up.

Canon

Canon is another Japanese
organization. However, unlike Sony, Canon is more streamlined in its business
ventures. It has restricted itself to the optics and imaging industry and that
seems to be working for it.

Canon has also been around for quite some time. Long enough it has its own fan base of loyal customers. This must mean that its products are what it says they are. Well, let’s see how the Canon M3 holds up.

Sony a6000 Vs Canon M3 – Common Features

In this section, we want to
answer your “how different can these cameras be?” question by pointing out to
you how similar they are.

So, in this section, you’ll get to see all those features and functions that are exactly the same in both cameras. We’ll also include those features and functions that are, for the most part, alike but with slight variations. Let’s do this!

1. Weight

Now this is one thing that isn’t exactly
the same but, for the most part, is. The Sony a6000 weighs 0.75 pounds while
the Canon M3 weighs about 0.8 pounds.

AS you already can see, the
cameras do not weigh the same but we don’t think that 0.5 pound difference is
enough to make us swing one way or the other.

Furthermore, for what they weigh,
we consider both cameras lightweight. And we have to say that we’d pick a
lightweight camera over a heavy one any day. Especially if we will be lugging
said camera about a lot.

However, you should know that
some people actually prefer their cameras with a bit of weight. It probably has
something to do with the weight of the camera being reassuring as they do their
thing. You’ll have to decide for yourself if lightweight works for you or not.

In addition to considering the
weight of the camera body, you should also consider the weight of the lenses. After
all, you’ll need to carry the appropriate lenses with you.

That said, both cameras have the same sensor size. As a result of this, they require lenses of the same weight and size for the same aperture and focal length.

2. Articulating Screen

What do we mean when we say a
camera screen is articulating or articulated? It basically means that the
screen can be moved independent of the camera body.

Furthermore, an articulating screen
can either be fully articulated or partially articulated. A fully articulated
screen can be rotated while a partially articulated screen can only be flipped
upward or downward.

Both the Sony a6000 and the Canon
M3 have partial articulating screen which can also be called a tilting screen.

Now, the reason we consider any
kind of articulating screen a better idea than a fixed screen is that the
former allows you capture subjects from certain angles which would be
impossible with a fixed screen. Unless you move the entire camera body, that
is.

Still on the topic of the screen, we should point out that both cameras have a 3 inch screen which is fine. However, of the Sony a6000 vs Canon M3, only the Canon M3 has a touch screen. Also, of same cameras, only the Canon M3 can be used as a selfie camera.

3. Flash

The flash (or any provision made
for it) is a very important feature on a camera (or any other device with a
camera feature). The flash is meant to provide additional light for areas where
the lighting is poor.

Contrary to what you might think,
not all cameras come with an inbuilt flash. Some of them only come with an
external port for you to attach a flash to. It is always better to have certain
things built into a device. That way, you know you’ll always have them.

Anyway, enough said! Both the Sony
a6000 and the Canon M3 have an in-built flash. However, in addition to that,
they both have an external flash port. This is what you can attach an external
flash (that you will by separately) to.

You’ll really appreciate having that external flash port when you have to do flash photography. Because you’ll find out that the inbuilt flash will not be enough light for that kind of photography.

4. Battery Life

We really don’t need to preach to
you the importance of a satisfactory battery life. It could really get annoying
if you’re enjoying yourself, shooting away and your camera just dies on you.
This is why we aren’t exactly excited about the battery life of both of the
cameras in this review.

Now, to measure the battery life
of a camera, you’ll need to know how many shots you can get with the camera in
1 charge. That said, the Sony a6000 offers 360 shots per charge while the Canon
M3 offers 250 shots per charge.

We agree that the Sony a6000
offers a longer battery life than the Canon M3. However, 360 shots per charge
is still a short battery life. However, this isn’t so surprising seeing as
mirrorless cameras aren’t exactly known for having a long battery life.

Nonetheless, some people could actually consider 360 shots (or even 250 shots) per charge a satisfactory battery life. It all depends on what you want to use the camera for, though. And as we’ve said before, it is up to you to decide whether it is satisfactory or not.

5. Picture Resolution

This is basically about the
finished product. Devices are getting better at giving great quality finished
products. And one of the ways we know this is by the picture resolution in
megapixels. The higher the number in pixels, the higher the possibility of
having great pictures.

That said, both the Sony a6000 and the Canon M3 offer 24 megapixels in picture resolution. Is 24 megapixels high enough? You bet it is. So, all things being equal, you should have a great finished product whichever camera you decide to go with.

6. Wireless Connection

While some might not consider wireless
connection that important, we do think it is something you should really
consider before settling for a camera. Now a good number of cameras have, at
least, some kind of feature that makes them able to connect to the internet.

However, in the case of both the
cameras in this article, you don’t need to attach something external. The
reason is they both come with an internal wireless connection. So, all you need
to connect either camera to the internet is your camera and, of course, Wi-Fi.

Now in addition to being able to
connect to the internet, both these cameras are NFC (Near Field Connection)
enabled. What this means is that you can wireless connect these cameras to
devices that are also NFC enabled. This makes for a faster and more seamless
transfer of files from one device to the other.

That’s not all. Both these
cameras are built for convenience too. Why have we said this? Well, both
cameras can be operated using a smartphone. Provided the phone is connected to
the camera via the right app, you can take shots using the smartphone.

Just be sure that your smartphone and camera are within connection range. Then you’ll be able to see what your camera sees, with your phone screen acting as your viewfinder and the same screen acting as control buttons.

7. ISO Range

When we talk ISO, we refer to how
sensitive the camera is in numbers. And when we talk ISO range we talk about
the room the camera provides to adjust sensitivity.

That is, the lowest in the range
says you can make the camera less sensitive than this and the highest says you
can’t make the camera more sensitive than that.

This then begs the question; do
we want the camera more sensitive to light or less? And the answer to that is
more. The more sensitive the camera is to light the better the camera is able
to sift out unnecessary light.

However, that comes with its own
attendant problem. The more sensitive your camera is to light, the higher the
possibility of having grains on your picture. So, it is up to you to choose
which you can live with; not so great quality or more grains.

That said, we aren’t exactly
excited about the ISO range of either of the cameras in this Sony a6000 vs
Canon M3 review. The Sony a6000 offers a 100 to 25600 range which can be expanded
to 51200. The Canon M3 has an even narrower range which is between 100 and
12800 and can be expanded to 25600.

Now, the reason we aren’t excited is that we believe in having a wide range. This way, the photographer is not very restricted and has enough room to make as many adjustments as he wants.

8. RAW Support

This also has something to do
with the quality of the picture. Now, RAW is a format in which the photo captured
is stored. You might not grasp the import of this until you take a great picture
and the camera has to reduce the quality just so it can save said picture.

Thankfully, both the cameras we are reviewing support the RAW format. So, you can rest assured that whatever picture you take will remain in its original quality (which in both cases is good) even after it has been moved to storage.

9. Face Detection

Both cameras have this feature that is able to recognize faces when it sees them. Of course, we refer to human faces here. So, this feature makes the cameras great at taking portraits.

Sony a6000 Vs Canon M3 — A Sony a6000 demonstration Video

Sony a6000 Vs Canon M3 – Unique Features

In this section, we’ll be tackling those features that appear in one camera but not the other. We will also include those features and functions that vary a whole lot.

1. Viewfinder

We consider this an important
feature for a camera and we’ll tell you why. The viewfinder is that small lens
you look through to see what you are about to capture.

Now, as we earlier pointed out,
some mirrorless cameras come without a viewfinder at all. In such cases, you’ll
have to rely on the LCD screen. Now you’ll be fine with just the LCD screen if
you are in a place that is not too brightly lit. But if you are, you’ll really
struggle to see what is on the screen.

The Canon M3 is kinda one of
those cameras. However, it does come with an external port to which you can
attach an external electronic viewfinder. This is why we listed it as optional;
you can decide to get the external viewfinder or just stick with the LCD
screen.

On the other hand, the Sony a6000 comes with an inbuilt electronic viewfinder. So you need not bother about trying to get an external one.

2. Microphone Port

Of the 2 cameras in this review,
only the Canon M3 comes with a microphone port. This means that, unlike the
Sony a6000, you can attach a microphone to the Canon M3 for better audio
recording.

For this singular reason, we can say the Canon M3 is the better camera for video recording. After all, when we record videos, we want to get as good a quality audio as is possible.

3. Continuous Shot

The speed of a camera is usually
measured by how many shots said camera can take in 1 second. In this case, the
Sony a6000 has the Canon M3 really beat.

While the Sony a6000 can take 11
frames per second, the Canon M3 struggles with 4.2 frames per second. Looking
at this, you can see that the Canon M3 isn’t the fastest camera in the market. And
this could be kinda frustrating if you need to take as many pictures as
possible in little time.

On the other hand, the Sony a6000 is pretty fast. 11 frames per shot is not really easy to beat, especially for a semi-pro camera. That said, the shutter speed is probably the major reason the Sony a6000 is considered a semi-pro vs the Canon M3 which is considered an entry level camera.

4. UHS Memory Card

Cameras do not have a large
memory of their own. So they need additional storage space to keep photos they’ve
taken. Hence, the need for a memory card.

Basically all digital cameras are
compatible with, at least, the basic kind of memory card. However, there is a
group of memory cards referred to as the UHS (Ultra High Speed) memory cards.
Now, this memory cards allow for speedy transfer of photos after they’ve been
taken.

Not all cameras are compatible with this kind of memory card and we can see this distinction in this Sony a6000 vs Canon M3 comparison review. So, while the Canon M3 isn’t compatible with a UHS memory card, the Sony a6000 is, the UHS-I kind to be precise.

5. Available Lenses

This is something else that gives
the Sony a6000 an edge over the Canon M3. And it is probably another reason the
Sony a6000 is looked at as a semi pro camera while the Canon M3 is looked at as
an entry level camera.

The Canon M3 has only 20 lenses
available with it while the Sony a6000 has 102 lenses. You should know, though,
that 102 isn’t even the highest number of lenses a camera can come with. But it
sure is more than what the Canon M3 offers.

Furthermore, both the Sony a6000
and the Canon M3 do not come with an image stabilization feature. That is, if
you are taking a shots in motion, there is a possibility that the pictures will
come out blurry.

What you can do to combat that, however, is to get a lens with optical stabilization. This should help manually stabilize the image. That said, the Canon M3 has 4 optical stabilization lenses available with it while the Sony a6000 has 23 lenses available with it.

Sony a6000 Vs Canon M3 – Unique Pros

Pros Of The Sony a6000

With 11 frames per second (fps), the Sony a6000 has a faster shutter speed than the Canon M3.

Furthermore, unlike the Canon M3, the Sony a6000 has an inbuilt electronic viewfinder. We consider this a pro because it is just more convenient for the viewfinder to be in the camera.

Also, the Sony a6000 has more lenses (the regular kind and the optical stabilization kind) available to it than the Canon M3.

The flash of the Sony a6000 has a 6.0 meter reach vs that of the Canon M3 which has a 5.0 meter reach. What this means is that the Sony a6000 has a longer flash reach than the Canon M3.

The Sony a6000 supports the UHS-I memory card. Which means that it allows for fast transfer of photos to storage.

Also, with 179 focus points, the Sony a6000 has more focus points than the Canon M3 which has only 49 focus points.

Finally, the Sony a6000 is the more affordable camera of the 2 cameras.

Pros Of The Canon M3

The Canon M3 has a microphone port to which you can attach a microphone. This makes it the better camera for recording videos.

Also, the Canon M3 has a touch screen which should be fun to use.

Sony a6000 Vs Canon M3 — A Canon M3 Demonstartion Video

Sony a6000 Vs Canon M3 – Unique Cons

Cons Of The Sony a6000

The Sony a6000 doesn’t come with a microphone port vs the Canon M3 which does. This means you can’t attach a microphone to it. And it also means it is not the best camera for video recording.

Cons Of The Canon M3

The Canon M3 has fewer focus points vs the Sony a6000.

Also, with a 4.2 frames per second continuous shot, the Canon M3 isn’t as fast as the Sony a6000.

Finally, the Canon M3 doesn’t have as many lenses available with it vs the Sony a6000.

Sony a6000 Vs Canon M3 – Common Pros

Sony a6000

Canon M3

Articulating
Screen

The Sony a6000 has a screen that can be tilted
upward or downward. This way, you can take shots from different angles.

Same as the Sony a6000.

Flash

The Sony a6000 comes with an inbuilt flash that
will come in handy when you want to take shots in a dimly lit area. It also
comes with an external flash port for times when you want to take flash
photography.

Same as the Sony a6000.

RAW
Support

The RAW format allows pictures taken on the Sony a6000
to be stored in their original quality.

Same as the Sony a6000.

Wireless
Connection

First off, the Sony a6000 comes with an inbuilt
wireless connection. Furthermore, it is NFC (Near Field Connection) enabled
which makes it able to wirelessly connect to other devices that are also NFC
enabled. Also, this camera can be smartphone controlled.

Same as the Sony a6000.

Picture
Resolution

The picture resolution of the Sony a6000 is 24
megapixels which allows for a sharp outcome.

Sony a6000 vs Canon M3 – Common Cons

Sony a6000

Canon M3

Image
Stabilization

The Sony a6000 doesn’t come with an inbuilt image
stabilization feature. What this means is, there is a possibility of getting
blurry pictures if you are taking shots in motion. However, you can get
optical stabilization lenses.

Same as the Sony a6000.

Environmental
Protection

The Sony a6000 also doesn’t have any feature that
protects it against the elements. This already restricts the times and places
you can use the camera.

Same as the Sony a6000.

ISO

Between 100 and 25600 (which can be expanded to
51200 isn’t a very wide ISO range.

Between 100 and 12800 (which can be expanded to
25600) is an even narrower ISO range.

Battery
Life

The Sony a6000 doesn’t have a very long battery
life. You can only get 360 shots per charge. It could be satisfactory,
though.

With 250 shots, the Canon M3 offers even less battery
life than the Sony a6000.

Sony a6000 Vs Canon M3 – What People Think About Both

Sony a6000

Canon M3

A good number of people who have used the Sony a6000
actually have good things to say about the camera. People really seem to be
satisfied with the shutter speed of the camera, especially users who are into
the more serious photography stuff. Then there is the fact that it has
in-built wireless connection and is also lightweight.

Practically everybody seems to agree that the
Canon M3 is an improvement on its predecessor which is the M1. It looks to be
highly popular among people who need a camera for every day or every other
day use and not necessarily something professional.

There have also been a number of complaints,
about the camera. And one of the complaints is actually about the weight. Apparently,
some people prefer a heavier camera.

This is also the reason some people would rather
not jump on this boat.

Sony a6000 vs Canon M3 – Our Take

Sony a6000

Canon M3

We also like the Sony a6000 and think it will
make a great compromise if you need something between professional and
entry-level. The shutter speed is satisfactory, the picture quality is great
and the camera is lightweight.

On the other hand, we think the Canon M3 would
make a good camera if you just need to take random pictures in family
gatherings. The picture quality is great and it is also lightweight.

Now while we can’t run away from the downsides, we think they are things that can be managed, especially if you are not using it as your main professional camera. Get the Sony a6000 now!

However, the speed of the camera and the number of lenses available with it could be a real drawback if you plan on using the camera professionally. Get the Canon M3 now!